Peace in the midst of Violence

This week I watched an excellent 5:54 movie on three men making peace in the midst of violence call Drop Makers. They are three men who live in the Israel/Palestine region. They come from different religious backgrounds. It doesn’t show them doing the typical peacemaking things that so many people would come to expect – the public out cries, the protests, or any social media activism. Those things have their place, but they aren’t the things that make peace.

The Drop Makers short film looks at the heart of peacemaking in Isreal/Palestine. Milad, Husam, and Muhmoud give shape to the appearance of a life lived fostering peace in an endless cycle of violence. Where true strength is found not in the application of power, but in the restraint to use it. Where hope lies in small deeds that may indeed be the very seeds of effective change.

Here’s what I love about this movie – the recognition that being a peacemaker doesn’t fall within the rules of politics. The rules that tell us that we have to fight over things, that we have to struggle over power. Politics is a mindset of lack – there isn’t enough of anything, so we have to fight over what there is. Instead, being a peacemaker is a way of life and a way of living. It comes from a position of strength and abundance, not weakness. It’s looking at the violence all around and saying – I choose a different path, even if everyone else says I’m crazy and it won’t work.

Politics has its place. But really, politics enters when we become impatient, believe that there is a zero sum game in life, and that the only way to peace is by force. And the sad reality is that it doesn’t work. You’d think we would have learned this lesson by now instead of having to relearn it over and over and over and over… You can’t have a lasting peace from a system or a people who run a system that is based on a power struggle.

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I believe that God, church, and theology are approachable, enjoyable, and relevant for everyone. I write about this a lot because people need to hear it. So many people feel lost, hopeless, alone, and are searching for identity and meaning.
I'm an ELCA Pastor (Lutheran) who has a background in politics, business, and the non-profit worlds. I take churchy theological ideas and words and communicate them in everyday language that people can understand, in ways that relate, and show that God, church, and theology matter a great deal. Oh, and it doesn't have to be boring either - mostly because it's the best news ever!